


Part of Me Part of You

by TeekiJane



Series: The Boys of Summer [32]
Category: Baby-Sitters Club - Ann M. Martin
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-29
Updated: 2014-01-29
Packaged: 2018-01-10 12:27:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1159749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeekiJane/pseuds/TeekiJane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a summer of love and chaos and so much more, Byron finally leaves for Duke.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Part of Me Part of You

_You’re a part of me_  
_I’m a part of you_  
_Wherever we may travel_  
_Whatever we go through_  
Glen Frey, Part of Me Part of You

**Byron**

I hadn’t known what to do with myself when I’d gotten home from Haley’s house Friday night. I’d ended up playing an endless round of The Game of Life with Claire. It went on for hours and hours…or maybe it just felt that way. It made me wish that I’d taken Adam up on his offer. There’d been one last kegger hosted by one of the guys in our group, though I wasn’t sure if Adam had invited me because he was being polite or because he’d needed a designated driver. I’d turned him down long before I’d known Hay was going to get her act back together and make up with Jordan. 

I love my youngest sister, but even hanging out with a bunch of drunken idiots—some of whom made my life a living hell for four years—would have been an improvement over watching her mercilessly cheat at what is quite possibly the world’s stupidest game. Finally, Margo arrived home, putting me out of my misery. I trudged up to my room as the two of them got into an argument over something petty and stupid. 

College was starting to sound better and better. 

My room was finally put back in order. Actually, after Hay had left earlier that day, I’d had it organized in about twenty-five minutes. I had only about five more things to pack up in the morning: my toothbrush, my deodorant, my pajamas, my pillow…and the picture of me and Jeff. I was looking forward to college in almost every way. I hadn’t originally been worried about having a roommate, because I’ve _always_ had a roommate. Even in my earliest memories, I was sharing a room with all three of my brothers. Later, at the age of ten, I’d needed to be the ‘bigger man’ and agree to share a room with Nick. That had actually worked to my benefit, as he’d been so thrilled that I’d agreed to room with him that he’d been the model roomie for a long time afterward. 

But I did worry about meeting and making friends with Julio. It wasn’t just that he didn’t know me at all; there was going to be an element of culture shock. I was going to be a Connecticut Yankee below the Mason-Dixon Line. Julio was Cuban by way of Florida, fluent in Spanish. He’d already promised me (by IM) that he was going to teach me to curse like a Cuban. I knew a lot about him—how his dad had passed away and his mother worked two jobs; how he was an only child but he had ‘millions’ of cousins and was the first person in his family to go to college. I’d told him a lot about myself—how I was one of eight and an identical triplet; how I was, like him, relying on loans and scholarships to get through school. I’d only left one thing out. 

I hadn’t forgotten to mention I was gay on purpose. It just kind of slipped my mind the first time we talked, and then it had seemed really awkward to try to slip it into a later conversation: “Oh, and by the way, I’m a homosexual.” I couldn’t decide if it slipping my mind was a good or bad thing. Was I falling back into my old, in-the-closet ways, or was it just such a natural, ingrained part of me at this point that it didn’t need to be the first thing I told people? I really didn’t know the answer. 

I was still debating that when Vanessa appeared in my open doorway. “You’re home early,” she noted with surprise. “Haley get sick of you and kick you out?” 

I rolled my eyes at her. Vanessa may have become more accessible and easier to talk to this summer, but she purposely tinged every conversation I had with her with sarcasm. I never could quite figure out what she was feeling that way—which I guess was her goal. “Nope. I excused myself when she got a phone call. I have to ask how much you had to do with the events today?” 

She looked at me like I was loony. “What events?” 

Even though I was pretty sure she was somehow responsible for Hay’s change of mind with Jordan, obviously Hay hadn’t told her about it. “Next time you see Haley, ask her where she got her ring. Or better yet, who she got it from.” 

Vanessa made a face that hid a grin. “Oh, gag,” she said, pretending the news was disgusting. “You mean she got back together with him? I think I need to go vomit.” 

I shook my head slowly. “I’m going to ask you again: How much did you have to do with this?” 

She feigned innocence for a moment before she smiled. “I just gave her a little kick in the bum,” Vanessa said finally. 

“Bum?” I repeated. 

“I’m feeling British this evening.” 

“Ahh.” 

“Anyway,” Vanessa continued, “I’m glad you made her leave today. We had a good talk.” This was the most open and unguarded I’d seen her since we’d been in Maine. “I understand her a lot better now.” 

I smiled faintly. I’d kicked Hay out earlier partly for the reasons I’d given her, and partly so that she’d go spend time with her old friends. I was glad it had done some good. “That’s good. You’ll keep an eye on her for me while I’m gone, right?” 

Something about that phrasing tickled Vanessa’s funny bone. “Sure, whatever,” she said with a laugh. She’d been leaning against the door frame, but she stood up. “I’m glad you’re leaving tomorrow,” she said. 

“Oh yeah?” 

“Yeah, for a bunch of reasons.” She had a mischievous look in her eyes. “First of all, with you all gone, I’m the oldest sibling in the house. And with Nick not turning seventeen for almost another year, the car is mine! All mine.” I chuckled. “Anyway, with each passing kid in this family, Mom and Dad realize they’re not doing too badly as parents, and they ease up. You being such a ‘role model’ and butt kisser has helped tremendously in that respect.” She was grinning, although I don’t think she was trying to compliment me in any way with that statement. “But you leaving means that I don’t have you there as a measuring stick that I need to be compared against any more. I don’t think you ever did anything to purposely make the rest of us look bad, but it happened all the same.” 

“So you’re glad to be rid of me?” I asked. 

“I didn’t say that,” Vanessa replied. She had just come out of the shower before stopping to talk, and she was wearing regular pajamas, no makeup, and her hair was uncombed and still dripping. You’d never guess if you saw her like that that earlier today she’d been wearing an extremely short dress with several petticoats, white thigh-high stockings and platform Mary Jane shoes, with her hair in two pigtails high on her head and ridiculously pink makeup. “With you gone, Margo’s going to try to get _me_ to give her and her vapid friends rides to the mall all the time.” 

I rolled my eyes at her again. “Never change, Vanessa,” I said with a laugh. 

She leaned against the door again, briefly. “I don’t intend to,” she said with a smirk. “I’m sure I’ll see you again before you leave, but probably not alone like this, so I better get this out of the way.” She made a quick look around to make sure no one else was listening. “Have a good time at school. I know you’ll have no trouble with your classes and homework and everything, but make sure you actually go out and live a life, okay? All school and no fun makes Byron a dull boy.” 

I gave her a hug, which she actually returned. “I’ll try. I don’t have too much experience with that, so no promises, okay?” 

She left me alone with my thoughts, but I didn’t get too far with them. It must have been nearly curfew, because Nick joined me in our bedroom shortly after. “How was your date?” I asked him. 

Over the past few years, Nick hadn’t been much of one for facial expressions, but the look on his face said it all. Had he been a girl, he would have plopped down on his bed in a fake faint and said, ‘I’m in love!’ But Nick is definitely not a girl. “I had a good time,” he said, trying to play it cool. But he had a giant grin he couldn’t turn off. 

I had to smile back at him, because I’d felt that way, not too long before. It was the feeling that you were finally joining the human race and doing what everyone else your age was doing…and you were having a good time doing it. “We went to see the Bourne Supremacy,” he told me without my even asking. “Then we had burgers and milkshakes at the Rosebud.” 

This was apparently ‘Open Up to Byron Day’ and no one told me. I wasn’t really complaining, though. “That’s awesome, Nick,” I said, and I completely meant it. I had a feeling there was more to the story, though. “Did you kiss her?” I asked. 

He shook his head, and I could see I’d touched a nerve. The smile went away. “I wanted to…and I _think_ she wanted me to. But I didn’t know when. And it wasn’t like I could give her a goodbye kiss or anything. I mean, her sister Shannon dropped me off, and I wasn’t going to kiss her with her sister right there.” 

I nodded sympathetically. I hadn’t had that problem before—even if we hadn’t been old enough to drive, Jeff wasn’t exactly the type to shy away from kissing me in front of others. “Is she still coming to Dungeons and Dragons with you guys?” He nodded. “Well, next Wednesday, pull her aside some time, if you can. Maybe before the game starts or after it’s over. Tell her there’s something from the other night that feels incomplete, and then go for it. I bet she’ll be really surprised, in a good way.” 

“Hey, that’s pretty good. Maybe you should write an advice column.” Nick’s smile returned, but I was surprised. I hadn’t heard him joke like that in a couple years. He was even more serious than I was most of the time. “If that doesn’t work out, I can always try again next Friday. We’re going to see another movie. And this time, because it was _my_ idea, I’m actually going to pay.” He leaned in the doorway, similar to how Vanessa had been standing a short time ago, and looked out into the hallway. “Bathroom’s free. I’m going to get ready for bed.” 

He left and I chuckled. I wasn’t sure I’d ever met Maria, but from what Adam had said and the comments Nick had made about her earlier in the day, she sounded like she was going to be the one wearing the pants in that relationship. Actually, I worried just a tiny bit about my advice to Nick, because if Maria was that strong-willed and she hadn’t kissed Nick herself, maybe it wasn’t such a good idea for him to even try it. 

Nick would probably be going off to sleep soon, but I was in no way ready for bed. Instead of lying down and letting my thoughts take over my head, I went down to the computer. Margo and Claire were still bickering down in the rec room. When the two of them get going, they can go at it for hours, bringing up every time one of them has wronged the other in their entire lives. Vanessa’s new bedroom—Dad’s former office—is right next to the computer. Her door was shut but her light was on, and I could hear quiet music playing. I logged in and checked my email, not expecting anything. After all, I’d just checked in shortly before Jordan had called me at around four thirty. I had one new message. 

To: byronp86  
From: superjeff15  
Subject: move in day  
hey By i know ur going to school in the morning. i also know ur probably a little worried about a few things. stop worrying. everyone is going to love you as much as i do. (well maybe not quite that much.) u will have no problem with anything.  
love and miss you,  
Jeff

I smiled to myself. It was beyond fabulous having someone who knew my fears before I even said them. I had to wonder why I’d ever worried about him being able to read my mind. I typed out a fast reply. 

To: superjeff15  
From: byronp86  
Subject: love you :)  
We’re leaving early tomorrow. Not as early as we left for Maine, but pretty bad. I’m hoping to sleep on the way and dream that I’m driving closer to you…  
Love, Byron

It was mushy and sappy and if Adam ever saw it, he’d be completely disappointed in me, same as he was with Jordan through most of the summer. 

He almost did see it. He came in a short time later, while I was trying to figure out if I could win a game of computer solitaire I was playing. I’d been hoping to tire myself out so I could go to sleep. Jeff’s email had taken away the edge of my fears, but they were still there below the surface, and I knew that if I tried to go to bed too soon, I’d just keep myself awake, thinking of more things to worry about. 

Adam was dropped off by a car I didn’t recognize. Usually when my brothers went out drinking, they tried to ‘sneak in’ by going through the back door. Apparently, when you’re drunk, walking (or stumbling) through the backyard—which is the direction Mom and Dad’s bedroom faces—seems to be more stealthy than quietly coming in through the front door. 

This time, Adam just walked right through the front door, and no wonder. He was totally loaded. He came in and plopped down on the couch, several feet away from me, and I could smell the liquor on him from that distance. I turned around and sized him up. Despite the smell, he seemed at least a little coherent. I wondered briefly if maybe he’d just been swimming in a tub of beer instead of drinking it. “Have fun at your party?” I asked. 

He sprawled across the entire length of the couch, putting his shoes on one of the cushions. If Mom had seen him, he would have been dead for a couple of reasons. “It was okay. It would have been better if you and Jordan had been there.” 

I raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never even gone to a party with you. How do you know I would have improved your experience?” 

“You’re my brother,” he said, slurring his words a little bit. I got the feeling that I was getting more honesty out of him drunk than I ever would have if he’d been sober. “Everything’s always been better when you and me and Jordan did it together.” 

I didn’t necessarily agree with that, but one of the few things I’d ever learned from drunk people is that it’s pointless to argue with them. “Before this year, when was the last time the three of us really did something together?” I asked him. 

He shrugged. “I dunno. But when we were kids, we always did everything together. And I know those were my happiest days.” 

I was looking at him in a whole new light for a moment. Who knew that Adam was so sentimental? Maybe he only got like this when he’d drunk too much. “We don’t have to stop doing things together just because we’re going to be separated most of the time,” I observed. “We’ll just be doing different sorts of things together.” 

“Oh yeah,” Adam sighed. “Group email and instant messages. Joy of joys.” 

“Well,” I said slowly, “Maybe we should make some plans. Like every year, we’ll do something special, just the three of us, no matter where we are or what we’re doing.” 

Adam let loose one loud, long belch and then wiped his mouth with his hand. “Sure,” he said sarcastically, “We can get together every year for our birthday. That’ll last for maybe two years. Then you’ll be too busy studying and Jordan’ll find himself a girl and be too busy making kissy-face and you two will forget about me all together.” 

I didn’t address his fear, because I knew he was too drunk to reason with. “I think,” I said instead, “that Jordan already found a girl.” 

Adam looked at me and tried to focus his eyes. “What?” he said, surprised. “I thought it would take him months to get past this… _this_. I can’t believe he really found himself a girl already.” 

“He did,” I asserted, “and her name is Haley.” Adam didn’t seem to be sorting that out straight. “They got back together,” I explained. 

He looked at me and laughed. “Oh, good,” he said. “The Great American Romance is back on.” Although he obviously meant that in a sarcastic manner, he didn’t say it with the correct tone of voice. He actually sounded a little pleased. 

I turned the computer off and sat down by Adam’s knees on the couch itself. He slowly shifted his head so that he was looking at me again, although I wasn’t sure how much he was actually taking in. If I’d had some grand words about how much growing up with him had meant to me, it would have been an ideal time to say them. But I didn’t. I think I’m pretty good with words overall, but come on here. I was an eighteen year old boy talking to his drunken brother. I would have needed more time to put together a speech like that anyway. Instead, I had a glint of memory from the far past and slapped my hand to my forehead. “What?” Adam asked suspiciously. 

“You know what we forgot?” I asked. 

“No.” He looked around, like the answer were somewhere in the living room with us. “What?” 

“We were supposed to organize all the neighborhood kids and dig up the time capsule.” Adam looked at me blankly. “Remember, there was that time capsule that Mal and all her babysitter friends helped us put together when we were kids? We were supposed to dig it up this summer before we went off to college.” 

Adam laughed. “Oh yeah. That stupid thing.” He rolled over a bit so he was on his side, pulling his knees up toward his chest. I slid fully into the seat by his shoes. “Don’t worry about that.” 

For someone so nostalgic about his childhood, I would have thought unearthing a canister full of memories would have been a positive thing in his eyes. “Oh?” I said. “Why not?” 

He laughed even louder, this one turning into a cough. I heard Margo and Claire quiet down in the rec room and I knew they were listening to him. “Remember last time Jeff came to town for the whole summer? I think we were fourteen.” We’d been thirteen, but I didn’t disagree with him. “Anyway, Jeff found the map that he’d drawn to its location. He knew that his sisters would kill him if we dug it up early, so he, Jordan and I snuck out a couple of nights and tried to find it.” 

I was agog. “You guys busted out after curfew so that you could find the time capsule? Repeatedly?” I parroted back to him. 

He was giggling by this point; he sounded a little like Margo, which sort of disturbed me. “Yeah. We dug holes all over his yard, but we couldn’t find it anywhere.” He put a hand over his mouth to quiet the giggles, but it didn’t help. “You ever try following a map drawn by a ten year old?” 

I remembered that! I’d heard Jeff’s stepdad talking to another one of the neighbors about the ‘gopher holes’ he’d kept finding in his yard. “That was you guys? Mr. Spier thought that his yard was infested by digging animals.” 

“It was. Digging monkeys.” 

I shook my head. “Sounds like fun. I wish I’d been a part of it.” 

He looked at me clearly for the first time since he’d sat down. “I wish that too. We asked you to come, you know. You were so worried about getting caught out after curfew that you wouldn’t join us.” 

That sounded about right. I didn’t have a good reply to that, so instead I bumped his shoulder with one fist. “C’mon,” I said. “Let’s get you up to your room before you attract Mom and Dad’s attention.” 

He didn’t argue with that or tell me that he didn’t need my help. A year ago, I would have run up to my parents' room to wake them if he’d come home wasted like that. Even if I’d wanted to do that today, it would have been pointless. Adam could have as much to drink as he wanted any time he wanted, starting tomorrow. And what were my parents supposed to do? Ground him? Say, “Sorry, you broke the rules, so you can’t go to Ohio?” Right. 

I settled him into Jordan’s bed for fear he’d roll out of his own. He zonked out almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. I made sure his mouth was free of the pillow—to make sure he’d actually live to see college—and then I headed to my own bed. I was reminded distinctly of the first night of spring break—the night Jeff came back into my life—when Adam and I had basically given Jeff the same treatment, and couldn’t help but smile. I only tossed and turned for a little while before I finally made it off to sleep. 

*** 

I felt like I’d only been asleep for five minutes when my alarm went off. Grumbling, I turned it off and stumbled out of bed. Nick growled, sounding for all the world like a rabid dog, and pulled his covers over his head. I took a quick shower and headed down to breakfast. 

Only one other person was down in the kitchen, frying up an egg. “Hey, Claire,” I greeted her. She’s the only person in our family who routinely doesn’t need an alarm clock; she’s up crazy early every day. 

She glanced over from her eggs and smiled at me. “Morning! Glad to be getting out of here?” 

“Sorta,” I told her as I pulled out a banana and the Cheerios. “I’m ready to go, for the most part. But I’m nervous about a couple things, too.” I quickly sliced the banana and poured the cereal into a bowl. 

“Of course you are. I’d be shocked if you weren’t,” she commented idly as she turned the heat off on her frying pan. For all her faults, that’s one thing I love about Claire: she lets me have my fears instead of trying to talk me out of them like the rest of the world. I poured the remnants of a gallon of milk into my Cheerios and added the banana slices. “Will you bring me back a present?” she asked as she unceremoniously dumped her eggs onto a plate. 

I had just taken a bite of breakfast. “It’s not like I’m going on vacation, Claire,” I pointed out after I’d swallowed. She poured some ketchup on her eggs and shrugged. “What kind of present?” I asked after a pause. 

Claire shrugged again. “I dunno. It’s just that you guys are spreading out, right? If you could bring me back something special from North Carolina, it would be almost as good as going there myself. I asked everyone else the same thing, but all Mallory brought me was a book.” She made a face as she sat down at the table across from me. 

I felt for her. We hadn’t had a family vacation since she was seven, and even then, we’d just gone to New Jersey every summer. Each one of us kids had taken one trip with the middle school to somewhere interesting, but the school had stopped offering those programs just before Claire had enrolled there. “Sure. I’ll try to find you something special that isn’t a book. And save your money.” She looked up at me from her eggs. “Save enough for some plane tickets and you can spend the weekend with me any time, okay?” She brightened. “You really mean that?” 

“Have you ever heard me say anything I don’t mean?” 

Claire threw herself across the table and gave me a big hug. She smeared ketchup all over her pajamas and nearly knocked over my cereal in the process. “You are the best big brother ever!” 

Part of me was grimacing over the mess she’d made, but I put that aside. “And don’t you forget it,” I told her as she dashed off to get dressed, leaving her dishes all over the place. 

*** 

By the time I was done eating, Mom and Dad were at the table having their own breakfasts. I headed back up to my room to quietly do my last bit of packing. Nick still had the covers over his head, but he was back to sleep and snoring softly. I had listened to that noise for most of my life. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I’d miss his snores. 

I grabbed my last few items and stepped out of the room, heading to the bathroom. It was in use. I sighed and opened the bag I was carrying, gently placing Jeff’s photo on top. It was going to have a place of honor somewhere in my dorm, whether Julio liked it or not. 

I was thinking about the layout of my dorm room, leaning against the door to the bathroom, when it opened. I nearly fell on top of Margo as she jumped out of the way. “Jesus, Byron,” she gasped. “What the hell are you doing? Trying to kill me?” 

“Sorry,” I said as I righted myself. She shook her head at me and sat down on the toilet. I started pulling my toiletries out of the mess on the sink and she watched me, morosely. Margo’s not usually one to get depressed these days, so I was concerned. “Everything okay?” 

She was wearing a short nightshirt and her hair was loose. Somehow, it made her look less than fifteen—which is how old she’d turned on her birthday just a week before. She wrinkled her brow, a favorite expression of hers from childhood, making her seem like she was maybe seven, waiting for someone to put a bandage on her hurts. “You’re the brother I always take my problems to,” she said finally. “What am I going to do when you’re gone?” 

I raised my eyebrows. Margo hadn’t really come to me with her problems in the past year or so, since she’d started high school, but maybe _she_ hadn’t noticed that. I bumped my butt up on the vanity so that I was sitting facing her. “Same as you’ve always done,” I observed. “It’s not like I’m going off to the Army or something. You’ll still be able to get ahold of me.” 

She continued as if she hadn’t heard me. “You always give the best advice,” she said, pulling her knees up in front of her and leaning on them. “What am I going to do now? Talk to Nick? Can you imagine the type of advice _he_ would give?” 

I could, all too well. I smiled briefly. “Call me. Or go to Vanessa. She’s not that bad with setting people straight.” I thought about the kick in the ‘bum’ she’d given Hay. I still wasn’t sure what she’d said, but obviously it had been just the right thing. 

Margo snorted back a laugh. “Sure, whatever. She’s such a weirdo.” 

“Oh, and I’m not?” I asked her. She looked over at me, a smile starting to form on her face. “Whatever you do—whether you go to Vanessa for advice or not—make sure you ask her for rides for you and your friends as often as possible.” 

Margo’s mouth dropped open for a second. “Why, Byron Pike,” she said, giggling, “are you telling me it’s okay to annoy my older sister?” 

“I’m not just suggesting it; I’m encouraging it.” 

She hopped off the toilet, looking a little better, and gave me a hug. “You’re going to knock ‘em dead at school, you know that?” 

I shook my head. “What do you mean?” 

Margo looked a little embarrassed, like she was about to say something that went against the teenaged code. “You’re smart. You’re a good listener. You’re easy to get along with. What else do you need?” 

You’d be surprised how good hearing something like that from my baby sister made me feel. “Thanks, Margo. And you’re going to be just fine, with or without my advice. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders.” 

“Yeah, well,” she said, starting to blush. She looked at herself in the mirror for a moment. “Think it’s safe to take a shower?” she asked. 

I reviewed the counter. “Adam hasn’t grabbed his stuff out of here yet, so I’d wait.” 

She nodded. “I’ll probably wait until after you leave, even though it means someone not in this family might see me looking like…this.” 

“Nice to know you’ll make sacrifices on my behalf,” I told her with a smile. 

*** 

Hay showed up just as we were starting to load the cars. She was wearing the same tank top she’d had on the day before with a pair of shorts that could be pajamas—it looked to me like she’d just stumbled out of bed and come by. Her loose hair was getting longer, and soon it would reach her shoulders. She was also wearing a pair of sunglasses—the purple ones shaped like hearts she’d taken to Maine with her. “Love the sunglasses,” I said as I gave her a hug. “Haven’t seen those in a while.” 

She flipped them up on top of her head and I could see why she’d put them on. She wasn’t wearing any makeup and her eyes looked tired. She confirmed that for me. “Didn’t get much sleep last night. Stayed up until nearly three talking to Jordan.” 

My heart soared for her when I heard that. I glanced down at her hand and, sure enough, she was wearing his ring. And while she did look like she was going to walk back to her house after my dad’s car drove off and crawl back into bed and sleep for another six hours, she seemed much more at peace than she had just the evening before. “You look much happier today, even with the lack of sleep,” I observed. 

“Yeah, well, what can I say?” Hay asked me, grinning her happiest smile. “I love your brother. He makes me happy.” 

I pretended to pout over that. “I remember a time when _I_ made you happy,” I teased. 

She put on a mock stern face, her hands on her hips. “My world doesn’t revolve around you, you know.” 

“Great. Now you tell me.” 

Just then, Mom came out the door, followed by Adam. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” she asked him suspiciously. “First you didn’t want any breakfast, and now you’re saying you don’t want to drive. That’s just not normal for you.” 

He ducked his head. “I’m fine,” he said slowly. “I’m just really tired. I got home pretty late last night.” 

I leaned over toward Hay. “Maybe you should loan Adam those sunglasses,” I said in a low voice. 

She tried to hide a smile. “Hung over?” she whispered back. 

“And how.” 

Mom spotted me as I crammed my last box into the back of the SUV. “Byron, there’s a cooler in the kitchen full of snacks, sandwiches and drinks. Should make it all the way there and back without a refill, I think. Oh, and your dad’s brewed a massive pot of coffee. Are you going to want any of that, or should I just plan on a thermos for your dad?” 

I made a face for two reasons. First, I hate plain coffee and didn’t want any. Second, despite the fact that she was sitting on the back of the car not a foot away from me, Mom didn’t acknowledge Haley’s presence. I wondered if she was mad at her for the whole thing with Jordan. “No. No coffee for me, thanks,” I replied. Mom nodded and started to walk away, but I called over her shoulder. “Did you hear the good news, Mom?” She turned back around, looking confused. “Jordan and Haley are back together. I think the tearful phone calls should stop…well, from him, anyway.” 

Mom smiled gently and addressed Hay. “That’s great. I’m glad to hear it, for both of you.” 

“I’m glad too,” Hay replied. “I never realized how much my words could hurt someone before. Mostly because, in the past, only one person was listening, and he never took me very seriously.” She grinned at me and Mom shook her head. 

I turned to Hay as Mom walked back inside, planning to tell her just how seriously I really do take her. Before I could say anything, though, she hopped off the back of the SUV and strolled over to the driveway, where Adam was tossing things into the back of the station wagon. I raised my eyebrows as she picked up a box and set it in next to the others. He looked at her for a moment, thinking about saying something, but she spoke first. “Here,” she said, handing him her sunglasses. “Let me give these to you so you can cover your eyes. They’re not really my style anymore, anyway.” I had to admit that she was right about that. She’d outgrown a lot of her more childish ways this summer. Adam took them from her, bemused. “And while I’m at it, give me a hug.” 

Adam looked from her to the glasses and back to her. “Why?” he asked her suspiciously. 

“Well, why not?” she asked him. “You’re the only triplet I don’t hug on a regular basis. I need to even that out a bit.” 

Adam frowned at Hay. “I don’t think you’ve been hugging Jordan recently, or doing anything else with him,” he said, sounding unhappy about it. 

Hay made a face and then turned to me. I sighed. “Adam, do you remember _anything_ we talked about last night?” 

He looked blank. “We talked last night?” 

I looked at Hay again and she rubbed her hand across her eyes tiredly, though I could see a smile hiding behind her arm. “Yes. We had a nice chat where you told me that the best years of your life were spent with me and I told you that Hay and Jordan made up.” 

He made a face himself. “I must have been more trashed than I thought, because I usually remember my stupid ramblings,” he said. I shook my head and he turned back to Hay. “So he decided to take you back, huh? I hope you know how lucky you are.” 

She smiled a little shyly. “I do. I really do.” Adam looked at her critically for a moment and then gave her a very quick hug. She patted his shoulder as he let her go. “Good luck with school, Adam,” she said earnestly. 

He plopped her sunglasses on top of his head and both Hay and I grinned at him. “And you take care of Jordan, okay? He’s a lot more sensitive than he lets on. If you’re going to bother dating him, go for it all the way.” It was her turn to look him over. “Okay. Maybe not _all_ the way.” 

Hay threw a glance at me and we smirked at each other. Even when Adam was being serious, he had to throw in a joke. “Well, hopefully someday,” she said to my brother, causing him to raise his eyebrows. 

I held out my fist to Adam and he bumped it with his own. I could see Hay rolling her eyes at our ‘manly’ display of affection. “Keep in touch,” I told Adam. “I need to live vicariously through the parts of the college experience that I’m not likely to, well, experience.” He grinned back at me. 

Mom popped her head out the back door. I could just barely see her around the side of the house. “Byron?” she called. I inched over so I could look her in the eye. “Come inside here and help me get these coolers out to the cars.” 

I went straight inside, expecting to find the heavy coolers, like the one we’d taken to Maine that spring. Instead, Mom had two smaller coolers and bags of snacks. I raised my eyebrow; she could have carried that herself. I went to lift one and she stopped me with a hand to my shoulder. “I called you in here so we could have a quick talk before you left,” she admitted. “In some ways, you’ve always been the son I worried about the least, but in other ways, you’ve been the one I worried about the most.” Mom took a deep breath. “I always knew you’d never cause trouble and you could be counted on to help solve problems and keep order among your brothers and sisters. But you always seemed sad and ill at ease while you were doing it. I always worried that more was going on with you than met the eye.” 

“And there was,” I observed. 

“Yup,” Mom agreed. “But that seems like it was years ago now. You stopped hiding and started being the real you—and I think we all like the real you so much better than we liked the shell you let us see before that.” She gave me a hug and I returned it gratefully. “You’re not a little boy any more, and I couldn’t be happier.” She fished in her pocket and pulled out a phone card. “I have one of these for each of you each year you go off to school. I think Jordan’s managed to use his up already, while Mal makes hers last all school year. She probably has some left on hers from last year, even.” She shook her head. “Basically, what I’m saying is that if you need anything—anything at all—call and we’ll always be there for you.” 

“Unless you’re asking for money,” Dad’s voice boomed from the bottom of the stairs. He and Mom shared a smirk. This is apparently a favorite joke of theirs—I have a feeling Mallory has heard it every year since she was eleven. 

Dad picked up his thermos of coffee and the bag of snacks for our car. I grabbed the cooler. “Hey everyone,” he called up the stairs, “We’re leaving. Come say goodbye.” 

What happened next wasn’t exactly the Brady Bunch running down the stairs, but it had a similar effect. There was Vanessa, her hair half done, followed by Margo, wearing real clothes but clearly not actually dressed for the day. Next came Claire, her hair piled into a ponytail on the top of her head. Almost a whole minute later, Nick, still in his pajamas, his hair messy from sleep, came down, rubbing his eyes. 

My four younger brothers and sisters crowded out front, in such a way that they could see both cars. Hay joined them, and I could see that she was getting ready to cry again. I put the cooler down in the car in such a way that I could grab it easily from the passenger’s seat, and then I went over to her. I enveloped her in a giant bear hug, squeezing her so tightly that I’m surprised she was able to keep breathing. I let her go and she gazed into my eyes for a moment before she spoke. I waited for some words of wisdom to emerge from her mouth, but I was going to have to keep waiting. “Do me a favor,” Haley said seriously. “Get a haircut at some point this year. My hair’s finally longer than yours, see? And I’d like to keep it that way.” 

I laughed and gave her another hug. “I love you, Hay.” 

“And I love you. And I always will, no matter what.” 

Vanessa put her arm around Hay as she wiped a single tear from her eye. “And I love all the rest of you, too,” I said, acknowledging my younger sibs. “Be good, or I’ll hear about it.” 

My siblings mumbled various replies as I headed back to the car. I could see Mom and Adam getting into the station wagon. Dad made a few last minute directives to Vanessa, who was in charge for the day, and then he started the car. I waved furiously as the car shifted into gear, and I could see them all waving back. Hay ran after the car, waving and blowing kisses. I continued to wave at her until she faded from view. 

Little did we realize just how big a change this was going to be in our lives. I had no idea none of us would see Mallory again for nearly five years, or that I only had one more year considering this house (and Connecticut) my home. I didn’t know just how long Jordan was going to manage to hold on to his virginity pledge, or how wild Adam was going to let loose now that he felt he’d dodged a bullet. There was no way I could have predicted what an entrepreneur Vanessa would become, or that Nick would be quite the ladies’ man. I wouldn’t have known that Claire would hit her teen years harder and faster than the rest of us (though I might have guessed) or known the hardships Margo had coming up for her. I couldn’t know that Tiff was going to give birth to a beautiful baby boy and name him after her white knight. Or that I’d still think of Hay as my best friend years in the future and ask her to be the “best person” in my upcoming wedding. I had no way of knowing just how much my life and Jeff’s would be intertwined over the years. 

But as hard as all those years may have been—no matter who may have come and gone from my life, no matter how many tears I may have shed—I wouldn’t change a single thing. 

And it all began that day as the car drove off to North Carolina.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that’s it, that’s all. I hope you enjoyed reading it a fraction of the amount I enjoyed writing it.
> 
>  
> 
> There will be a follow up. It has no title yet, but it will consist of ten stories, each of which will be in three chapters. It will probably be a few weeks before I manage to get off my duff and get the first part (Story title, August; Chapter title, An Overdue Conversation) posted. I need to figure out where everyone’s headed before I start writing.


End file.
